I believe in building strong relationships
Pavlína Prokešová, Founder of RealLocate and Art of Sharing
Text: Martina Hošková and M. Zisso; Photo: Archive
Happy family
You returned to Prague after a several-years long New York experience, which has enabled you to compare between the two cities. Were the differences between these two the reason why you moved back to Czechia?
My 20-year journey has shaped me professionally and personally. I’m originally from Prague; I grew up in Prague 8. After my studies in Real Estate Appraisal, I relocated to New York and started my real estate career there. On my journey in this field, I met my husband through Manhattan Real Estate. After some years, it only made sense to open our own real estate office. By the end of 2016, we had three beautiful children, three real estate offices, and 100 real estate brokers.
The reason we decided to move back to the Czech Republic was to be closer to my family. Even though we visited Czechia quite often, we still missed them. Another reason I am sure many expats will understand is the fact that the work-life balance here, especially in Prague, is simply different from the one in the US. There are still many business opportunities here in Czechia, but at the same time family life feels much more in balance with your professional life.
And since I have two daughters, it was always important to me that they grow up knowing they have options – that they don’t have to choose between having a family and building a career, which in NYC is often still the reality.
Did everything go according to your plan and expectations after your arrival in Prague?
When we arrived back in the Czech Republic, it was a very interesting time – we returned just two months before COVID. Many of our friends joked we knew about COVID coming, since it was the perfect timing. So, my professional journey here started in a very unexpected way and in the strangest period. At first, I actually didn’t want to continue in real estate. I wanted to try something new and bring the experience and know-how I gained in New York into a different business direction. But, as destiny often writes the story, it led me back to real estate. And today I’m truly happy it did.
What I love about the Czech real estate market is that it still feels like a market with enormous potential. It’s still developing, there are many opportunities, and there is space to build strong relationships and bring a higher level of service. Today, I lead a team of real estate agents, and we offer a full scope of services: leasing, sales, investment properties, land, and property management. For us, customer service is the absolute priority. We want to cover everything real estate-related, but always with premium-quality service and long-term client care. My team is quite international, and a big part of our client base is expats. Many of them are interested in property management, pre-sales of development projects, consultations, and buyer representation. We also support relocation to some extent, and we work closely with corporations and many embassies as well.
Talking about investment properties, is it still a good idea to buy an apartment in Prague? What would your recommendation be to a relatively small investor?
What I would recommend to smaller investors is to look at Prague as a dynamic and still very strong market. In my opinion, real estate here remains an excellent investment because the value over time has been increasing faster than in many other Western European cities – and even compared to New York. I personally invested in New York real estate as well, and I’ve seen that value growth there can be much more stagnant in comparison, or can experience more ups and downs rather than steady growth. On top of that, the low real estate taxes are yet another big plus of the Czech market.
At the same time, I also strongly recommend investing outside Prague, within roughly 60 kilometres. Cities like Plzeň and other university locations are especially interesting because the demand for student housing is high, and international student numbers continue to grow. Students are not only coming to Prague, but also to cities like Olomouc and Plzeň. And with current urban development trends, many people are also moving outside Prague because the cost of living in the city is rising. That’s why well-located properties within commuting distance can be a very smart and stable investment.
Let’s return to the comparison of the New York and Prague real estate markets once again. How different are the two ecosystems in practice?
Fundamentally, not as much as people might think. The core principles, property value, negotiation, analytics, and client needs, are very similar. The biggest difference I see is in the broker community. In New York, cooperation between agents is standard, co-broking and shared listings are very common, and the market feels like a real professional ecosystem. What I am also missing here is a cohesive MLS, multiple listing system – shared property database of the brokerage community accessible to public as well.
In Prague, cooperation exists as well, but there is still a noticeable lack of trust between brokers, probably based on past experiences. I do think that’s slowly changing. The new legislation requiring a real estate license will, in my opinion, help build a stronger professional community over time, but we are still only at the beginning of this process. For many years there was very little regulation in terms of who can actually work in real estate. Even today, you sometimes see people representing properties without proper mandates from owners, or individuals who work in completely different industries but still try to act as brokers. So, professionalism and regulation will be a key part of how the market evolves.
Does the current real estate market in New York show us what the future of this field in Prague is going to look like then? How do you see the real estate market in Prague in ten years?
How do I see the real estate market here in ten years? That’s a great question, and I truly hope the market will continue to develop as strongly as it does today. I strongly believe in student housing as a product. Prague has huge potential, and so do other cities.
I also see major growth in BTR – build-to-rent projects, meaning developments designed specifically for long-term renting – and I think co-living and flat-sharing will become a much bigger trend as well. The reality is that the cost of buying apartments is high, and rental prices are also increasing. Young professionals, and students as well, often cannot afford to live alone. In Manhattan, sharing an apartment with roommates is extremely common because it helps balance living costs. And I believe we will see a very similar trend here. From an investor’s point of view, student housing and co-living yields are much higher. So, overall, I see the market moving towards more structured rental products, student housing, BTR, and co-living, because affordability will continue to shape how people live.
Where do you see your RealLocate company going?
When I first started, I actually imagined doing it more independently, almost like a lone wolf. I wanted to start small, keep it simple, and build gradually. But the reality is that the opportunities came very quickly, and I realised that in order to deliver the level of service and quality I wanted, I needed a team. Today, I have a team, and every year I see the company growing, strengthening, and evolving into something bigger than what I originally planned.
Right now, my focus is strongly on building our brand and visibility, working on strategic marketing, strengthening our market position, and expanding our pre-sales activities. I want the brand to be recognised more and more every day, not only for real estate expertise, but also for quality, trust, and an international standard of service. I am also starting my own podcast in March “Real Chat with Pavlina Prokesova”, which I am very excited about. The concept is to connect the world of real estate with other worlds that may at first glance not seem connected. Real estate is not just about renting or selling but also about building communities and supporting many different areas of our lives.
One of these other seemingly non-connected worlds might be another activity you engage in successfully – charity – since you are the founder of the Art of Sharing charity too. What motivated you to start this initiative?
I lived abroad for over twenty years, so I wasn’t fully present in the networking, contacts hassle during that time. As a family we visited twice a year: in the summer for the traditional Czech holiday at our village house with my family, and then again for Christmas. So, we did keep friendships intact. When I returned, I quickly realised that in real estate here – just like in New York – the most important thing is trust, relationships, and networking. And because I wanted to jumpstart my career back in Prague and build strong connections within the community, I created a networking platform with a deeper purpose. That’s how Art of Sharing was born.
Art of Sharing is a charity and networking concept. It started very modestly, with around forty people, and it has always been invite-only. The idea is to bring people from the community together – to meet, connect, and at the same time do something meaningful for others. Every event supports different causes, such as children with serious illnesses, organisations helping elderly people, and others.
At the same time, I felt something was missing in many networking events in Prague. They often felt anonymous, people would usually stay with the person they arrived with, and real networking didn’t really happen. I kept thinking: if it’s called networking, why isn’t anyone actually networking?
So, I built Art of Sharing differently. Because it’s invite-only, there’s a consistent core community, people see each other repeatedly, and that creates familiarity and trust. I also actively connect guests and introduce them to one another, which makes the atmosphere much warmer and more open.
This March, I’m hosting our 10th event at the Andaz Hotel. And over the past three years, Art of Sharing has raised over four million Czech Crowns for different charities, which I’m truly proud of. It’s one of the most meaningful things I do. I meet inspiring people, create valuable connections, and I genuinely believe that if you do well in life, you also have a responsibility to give back. It’s part of keeping balance, not only in business, but in the universe.
What convinces your partners that your charity is the right fit for them?
The thing that makes the Art of Sharing concept truly special is the flexibility and diversity behind it. Even though it’s officially registered as a nonprofit organization, we don’t fundraise for one single organization all of the time. The supported charity changes, and that’s intentional. It allows us to bring help to different communities and different causes over time. And if we have partners who want to participate, for example by sponsoring an event, they can also choose the charity they feel personally connected to and would like to support. This way, the platform becomes a meaningful bridge between the business community and real social impact.
Personally, I also tend to support charities that are not necessarily the most commercial or visible ones in the Czech market. Of course, we’ve supported some well-known causes too, but I believe it’s equally important to remember the smaller organizations, the ones doing incredible work quietly, without a big marketing machine behind them. In a way, it’s about giving voice and support to the ‘small guys’ as well.
How would you describe the role your partners and community play in your work?
When it comes to partners, I’m truly grateful – I have many of them. And honestly, I always hesitate to name specific ones because I would never want to mention a few and unintentionally forget others.
I’m very grateful for the support around my charity initiatives. I have many individuals who contribute regularly and genuinely care about the causes we support, and I also have companies that stand behind the concept and help make the events possible.
In real estate, we work very closely with developers, individual property owners, corporate clients, small companies’ owners, and even just friends. A large part of our work is built on long-term relationships and trust, and I appreciate that many partners grow with us over time.
So, overall, I feel very fortunate – because the strongest part of what we do is the network of people and partners around us. And, if I may add, given everything that’s happening in the world, I’m truly grateful that we made the decision to return and move back with my family to the Czech Republic. It feels like the right place to build, to grow, and to live, and I hope we can keep this little bubble of safety, balance, and opportunity.